Shloka 26
द्रोणनिन्दाश्रवणं तथा सात्यकि–पार्षतविवादः
Hearing the reproach of Droṇa and the Sātyaki–Pārṣata dispute
प्रतिविव्याध तं राजन् नवभिर्निशितै: शरै: । पुनश्चैनं त्रिसप्तत्या भूयश्चैव शतेन तु
prativivyādha taṃ rājan navabhir niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ | punaś cainaṃ trisaptatyā bhūyaś caiva śatena tu ||
Sañjaya berkata: Wahai Raja, dia membalas dengan sembilan anak panah yang tajam; kemudian menikamnya lagi dengan tujuh puluh tiga; dan sekali lagi dengan genap seratus.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare tends to intensify through retaliation and excess: each strike invites a stronger counterstrike. Ethically, it points to the tragic momentum of conflict—prowess and duty in battle can coexist with the grim reality of repeated harm.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior (unnamed in this verse) counterattacks an opponent, first with nine sharp arrows, then with seventy-three more, and then with a hundred—describing a rapid, overwhelming barrage in the midst of the Drona Parva battle.